Panhandling Pundits: Help Nick Help Bill Help Us All

We like it when our op-edsters climb down from their inky pedestals and mix things up a bit. Which is why it's always a happy day at Gawker HQ when Nick Kristof decides to spend his 750 words taunting Bill O'Reilly about the Fox News blowhard's unwilling to bloviate about real problems instead of imagined ones. Kristof wants O'Reilly to travel to Darfur with him, and today's trash-talking is even more fun that the usual:

A few days ago, I finally got my answer. Mr. O'Reilly declared in his column: "I do three hours of daily news analysis on TV and radio. There's no way I can go to Africa."

No need to give up so easily, Bill. With a satellite phone, you can do your show from anywhere.

But maybe Mr. O'Reilly's concern is cost, so I thought my readers might want to give him a hand. You can help sponsor a trip by Mr. O'Reilly to Darfur, where he can use his television savvy to thunder against something actually meriting his blustery rage.

If you want to help, send e-mail to sponsorbill@gmail.com or snail mail to me at The Times, and tell me how much you're willing to pay for Mr. O'Reilly's expenses in Darfur. Offers will be anonymous, except maybe to the N.S.A.

Funny thing is, we were actually considering donating. Until we read Kristof's next graf:

(Note: pledges cannot be earmarked. It is not possible to underwrite only Mr. O'Reilly's outgoing ticket to Darfur without bringing him home as well.)

Maybe at least you could send him on a world tour instead, Nick? We'd kick in for that.